"Dangerous" gap in rail track

Network Rail deny staffing cuts caused gap

Network Rail strongly deny the claims and a dip was identified - but it turned into a crack the day before they were due to repair it.

“A dip in our track was identified and spotted at Hambleton on 17 January. Following our well-tried and tested standard industry procedure to remedy such dips, we scheduled an intervention to repair this dip on the Saturday night of 2 February. Unfortunately the track deteriorated more quickly than is to be expected and, on discovering the broken rail, all traffic was stopped immediately while a repair was carried out.”

“This incident was managed within all safety standards and was in no way affected by changes to staffing levels. Safety issues will never be compromised in the name of managing costs.”